Daily Hampshire Gazette

David Bryan Provencal passed away on August 9, 2022 with much courage and grace after a battle with lung disease. As an "Army brat," David lived in many southern states and France before settling in Western Massachusetts. David was predeceased by his parents, Leo and Betty Provencal, his first wife Michelle (Levesque) Provencal, and his beloved son Joel Provencal. David was a Vietnam era Navy veteran. He had an undergraduate degree from Hampton College, a law degree from Western New England College and a Master's in Education from Cambridge College. Several buildings in Springfield reflect David's early career as an accomplished welder. In a mid-life career change, he spent several...

Inge (Blindermann) Sloan, 77 , of 16 Spruce Lane, Florence, MA died Sunday, June 19, at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. A full obituary will follow.

William R. Meckel, 87, passed away on June 17, 2022, with his family by his side. Bill was born and raised in Holyoke, graduating from Sacred Heart High School and the University of Massachusetts after studying physics. Bill spent time working at the White House as a communications specialist while serving in the army during the Korean War. He worked for IBM in Springfield for many years and then started his own programming company, ending his career at Deerfield Plastics. For many years after retirement, he and Barbara lived in Orleans, on Cape Cod. Bill is survived by his high school sweetheart, Barbara, and their four children, James Meckel and his wife Mary O'Leary of Prairie Village,...

Marjorie O. Ewing, 88, passed away peacefully at her home on June 13, 2022. She was born March 7, 1934 in Worcester, daughter of Thomas H. and Marion (Steele) Ewing. Marjorie grew up in Worcester, spent time living in CA and was in Belchertown for about 10 years. For the past four years, she resided in Northampton. Marjorie was creative - she loved to paint and found beauty in color. She was an avid news radio listener and generous to many charities. Marjorie's passion was to right injustices and to help others less fortunate. She was predeceased by a brother, Howard Ewing, and a sister, Eleanor Ewing. To honor her memory, please consider donations to The Food Bank of Western...

Cynthia Louise (Gallup) Phelps passed at her home on June 6th, 2022 with her husband of 52 years by her side. Born in Holyoke on May 18th, 1943 she was the daughter of William W. and Jean (Valentine) Gallup. A native of Granby, Cynthia was a teacher of Library Science (and Dinosaurs) to all ages. She was an equestrian, conservationist and avid reader with love and respect for children of all ages. She was educated in Granby Schools, South Hadley High School, Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in English and The University of California at Berkeley with a M.A. in Library Science and education. She taught and worked in Otis, MA, Marin County CA, Bristol, CT, East Hartford, CT, the Mount Holyoke...

Carol Ann (Bertolotti) Kwapien, 77, passed away June 3, 2022, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Springfield on February 8, 1945, she was the daughter of the late David S. & Eleanor (Loncrini) Bertolotti. Carol was a gifted and gentle healer, teacher and mentor who brightened many lives. After graduating from the Springfield Hospital School of Nursing, Carol began her career as a registered nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu and Wesson Women's Hospital in Springfield. She went on to become a Certified Occupational & Environmental Health Nurse - Specialist, OSHA trainer, Certified Healing Touch Practitioner, Reiki Master, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified Practitioner...

Jacqueline F. (Nadeau) Leduc, 94, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Friday, June 3, 2022. Born on March 22, 1928 she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Lydia (Chadonnet) Nadeau. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her, including her son, George Leduc of Easthampton and daughter, Nancy Hamel of Amherst; 6 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; and many other extended family members and friends. Visitation will be Tuesday, June 7, 2022 from 4:00pm-7:00pm at Beers & Story South Hadley Funeral Home, 646 Newton St. Friends and family may gather Wednesday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home to process to St. Theresa's of Lisieux, 9 E...

Amherst and formerly of Athol -Mary J. (Colton) Maciacius, 96, died Sunday, May 29, 2022 at her home with her daughter at her side. She was the wife of the late Leon Anthony Maciacius; and sister of the late William R Colton of Naperville, Illinois. Mary leaves her daughter, Anne Shanks and her husband Alister Robertson Shanks of Northampton, MA; two granddaughters, Lee Ann Kingsley and her husband Mark Kingsley of Los Angeles, CA and Allison Cwalinski and her husband Nick Popowich of WIlliamsburg, MA; brother, Richard Colton and his wife Barbara Colton of Melbourne, FL and sister Margaret Coty of Amherst, now Mashpee, MA; plus many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Mary...

Norman Sims died at home in Winchester, NH on May 15th. He was born on January 26, 1948, in Paris, IL to Julia Burnside Sims and H. Nolan Sims. He grew up in Mattoon, IL and graduated from Mattoon High School in 1966. Sims received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Illinois in 1971. After working at United Press International in Minneapolis for two years, he went back to receive an M.A. in American History from the University of Illinois Chicago, and then entered the Ph.D. program at Urbana, graduating in 1979. While there, he studied under his mentor, Dr. James W. Carey, in the College of Communication. By 1979, he had arrived as an assistant professor in the Journalism Department...

Frederic E. Hugo, 79, of Gardner, died peacefully Saturday, May 14, 2022, in St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Brighton, after an illness. Born in Melrose on June 11, 1942, he was the son of the late Charles and Geraldine (Duncan) Hugo. He graduated from Wakefield High School with the Class of 1960 and received a Bachelor of Art Degree in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with the Class of 1964, where he was also in the Army ROTC program. Upon graduating, Fred entered the United States Army as commissioned officer serving from 1964 until 1966, where he received the National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal. Fred was a Classification Specialist...

John James Kiernan, 96, died May 11, 2022, surrounded by family. Born in Springfield on October 16, 1925, he was the son of the late John J. & Margaret (Byrne) Kiernan. He was a long-time resident of East Longmeadow. John attended Cathedral High School before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the age of 18. As a nose gunner in a B-17 bomber, John flew 26 missions over Germany during World War II. Returning home, he followed in his father's footsteps and got a job working on the railroad. He then took a job with New England Telephone where he remained for 35 years. After retirement, he and his wife enjoyed many winter seasons in Naples, Florida. He enjoyed gardening and created a...

Dr. Lyle Craker, devoted husband and father; world renowned scientist, writer, professor, and educator; master repairman of all things; and longtime resident of Amherst, Massachusetts, passed away May 15, 2022 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Lyle is survived by his wife Betty (nee Eckert); daughters Karen Morris (Pancho), Nancy Craker-Yahman (Yahman), Sarah Craker (Justin) and Chantha Bin (Ray); and grandchildren, George (Leah) and Aaron Morris and Zachary and Adam Yahman. He was preceded in death by his parents, Roger and Marcella, his brother Loren and sisters, Beatrice Anne, Bonnie Jean and Rita May. Lyle was born in the small, rural Wisconsin town of Reedsburg where he grew up...

Richard D. Searle departed this life on May 8, 2022. Born on December 20, 1942, he was the fifth child of seven born to Paul W. Searle and Rachel (Young) Searle. Most knew him as "Dick," but his family and friends often called him "Decker" or "Herman." No matter how you addressed him, he was always willing to answer a call for assistance. He could frequently be found helping with a neighbor's project and he had a soft spot for those that were down on their luck and needed a helping hand. After graduating from Amherst High School in the class of 1961 Richard joined the air force and served until 1965. While still in the service he met his future wife, Nancy, at a local pizza parlor and soon...

Ethel B. Bozek, 89, passed away on May 3, 2022 at her home, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Leverett, MA on April 6, 1933, she was one of sixteen children to the late William J. and Myrtie B. (Nutting) Lashway. In 1951, Ethel graduated from Amherst High School. She married the love of her life, Edward S. Bozek in 1957. She worked at several area restaurants, where she enjoyed serving coffee and conversation. She also enjoyed volunteering at Heritage Hall Nursing Home. Most of all, Ethel's family was very important to her. She loved being surrounded by her daughters, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and enjoyed a good game of cards or Scrabble. The occasional trip to the...

Libbie Greenbaum Parad passed away May 03 in Northampton, Massachusetts at the age of 98; just 14 months shy of reaching her goal of 100. Libbie was born in Boston, and attended Boston Girls Latin. Libbie went to Simmons College for both her B.A. and MSW, completing her Doctorate at Columbia University. Libbie worked in close partnership with Howard J. Parad, her loving husband for 77 years until his death in 2019. She was the editor and co-editor of many articles and books, including Crisis Intervention. Libbie was a lecturer at Smith College School of Social Work, as well as UC Northridge. Her areas of expertise included Social Policy and Planned Short-Term Treatment. Libbie was...

Mark Singer, of Florence, a loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother passed away on April 27th. He was born in Plattsburgh, New York on July 29th, 1946 to Miriam and Harold Singer as the oldest of three siblings. Mark attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1968 earning a Bachelor's degree in Biology. There he met his wife of 54 years, Elizabeth (Kahn) Singer. After graduation they moved to New York where he attended Albany Medical College, earning a Doctorate in Medicine. He then completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Magee Women's Hospital in Pittsburg, PA. Following his residency, they moved to Columbus, Mississippi where he served for two years as a...

Elizabeth Ann Crowell, 82, passed away on April 26 at Holyoke Medical Center, following a long illness. She was born on September 1, 1939 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After high school, Elizabeth received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art, and in 1987, she received a Masters Degree in Administration from Clark University. Her many jobs included Legislative Aide to Massachusetts Senator Robert Wetmore, Executive Assistant to Pittsfield Mayor Anne Wojtkowski, Communications Director of the Massachusetts AHEC Program, Coordinator of the Pittsfield Anti-Tobacco Coalition, and foster parent to several therapeutic foster children. She was also a poet, and a member of...

John C. "Jack" Haley, 86, son of the late John J. Haley and Mary (Curley) Haley, died April 25, 2022 with his family by his side. Jack graduated from St. Jerome's High School, Class of 1953, attended Holyoke Community College, and enlisted in the Marine Corps in February 1954, serving until his honorable discharge in 1957. He was appointed to the Holyoke Fire Department in 1960 and retired in 1991. Jack was a Life Member of Holyoke Lodge of Elks #902 and enjoyed participating in their Pool League. He also belonged to the Easthampton Rod and Gun Club where he was a skilled trap shooter. After his retirement, he spent many happy years at Gate Island in Otis, MA and at TriPar Estates in...

Marianne Morrell-Schumann, 89, of Jersey City, New Jersey, passed away Sunday (April 24, 2022) in Naples, FL. Born in Greenport, NY, daughter of the late Rev. Herbert Morrell and Marion (Hall) Morrell, she lived in Windsor, CT, Boston, MA and western Massachusetts from 1960 to 2019, when she moved to Jersey City. Marianne was a Teacher, Teacher of the Deaf, and an educator having received her Bachelor's Degree from Mount Holyoke College and Master's Degrees in Arts of Teaching and Education of the Deaf from Smith College in Northampton, MA. She taught at Smith College Day School, Clarke School and Willie Ross School for the Deaf for over 20 years. She was a member of several...

Barbara A. (Salvatore) Smith, 61, passed away March 27, 2022 after a brief battle with cancer. She was born on May 23, 1960 in Northampton, MA to Shirley M. (Hubbard) Salvatore of Belchertown and the late Paul Salvatore. Barbara was raised in Northampton and graduated from Northampton High School. She proudly served her country in the US Navy and Navy Reserves for 17 years. Barbara has lived in Belchertown since 2016 and previously lived in Springfield. She worked for East Water Works in Palmer as an office manager. Barbara loved going to the beach and enjoyed taking rides on her boyfriend's Harley. She also enjoyed working in her garden and partaking in activities with her children. ...

Joan Estelle Ciruti of Amherst died on March 26, 2022 at the age of 91. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Joan was the daughter of the late Joseph A. Ciruti and Olga (Jordan) Ciruti. She had one brother, Robert W. Ciruti, who predeceased her in 1998. After discovering in high school that she enjoyed learning foreign languages, Joan majored in Spanish in college and later pursued a career in higher education. A bachelor's degree from Southeastern Louisiana College in 1950 was followed by an M.A. from the University of Oklahoma and a Ph.D. from Tulane University. Joan returned to the University of Oklahoma as a member of the faculty in the Dept. of Modern Languages in 1957. In 1959-60...